Doubt
by bearfuck
Summary: I-Pin watches as Lambo loses his mind. For KHRFest, prompt: Lambo - "Lambo-san has saved the world! LAMBO-SAN ISN'T LYING!"


**Title: **Doubt**  
Author/Artist: **bandanability**  
Rating: **PG-ish**  
Warnings: **LET'S TAKE A HAPPY PROMPT AND MAKE IT DEPRESSING KAY?**  
Prompt: **KHRFest: 1 − 70. Lambo - "Lambo-san has saved the world! LAMBO-SAN ISN'T LYING!"**  
Summary:** I-Pin watches as Lambo loses his mind.**  
Word count:** 729

I-Pin watches Lambo pick at threads on his blanket, his mouth hanging slightly open in what could be described as either awe or utter fascination. _He needs a shave,_ she thinks, and then curses herself for thinking of something so pointless when she should be concerned for his well-being.

He has been in this room for four months, only leaving it for the facility's daily walk (nine in the morning, every day but Tuesdays), and over that time, the number of visitors daily has dwindled, until only I-Pin still comes.

She doesn't blame the others for being elsewhere, of course. It's not as if Lambo is even aware he has company, usually, and the rest are busy, with normal Vongola duties and then the added task of finding a temporary sun guardian until Lambo recovers.

_(secretly, she doubts he ever will.)_

So it's I-Pin, alone, every afternoon, sitting on a plastic chair with a cushion Haru made, next to the bed of the only man she ever loved, and he can't even remember her. But she made a promise, when she married him, that she would always be there. And she isn't one to break a promise, even if nobody would fault her for it. And it's worth seeing his brief moments of some kind of awareness, even if he doesn't recognize her, even if he thinks he's a child. Those moments are rare _(getting rarer all the time)_, but if the only comfort she can offer is being "the nice lady" when he's _there_ (_though is that really him?_), letting him tell her stories and try to play with her, that's enough.

The nurse knocks on the door. I-Pin stands, opens it and takes Lambo's dinner. She then sits next to him on the bed, and he stares at her.

"Lambo, it's time to eat." He looks at her, face blank, and she passes him the fork, a piece of broccoli on it. He can't always feed himself, but she always lets him try first. Today looks like a good day, his grip firm on the plastic handle.

He stares at the broccoli. "Monster," he mutters, and smiles. I-Pin tucks her hair behind her ear and watches him, hoping that the statement meant part of his mind was present. "Broccoli-monster, run away!" His tone is sing-song, and she smiles encouragingly when he looks at her. He makes a whooshing sound as he brings the fork to his mouth and bites down. "Lambo-san has defeated the broccoli monster for the nice lady!" A bit falls out of his mouth when he talks.

"Thank you, Lambo-san." She forces out the words, trying to keep composed.

"Lambo-san has saved the world!" She holds out the plate to him, and he spears another piece with his fork. "Lambo-san is the strongest enemy of the broccoli monsters!" He finishes the broccoli quickly, making faces and comments about his "enemies" all the while.

He looks disapprovingly at his plate. "Lambo-san doesn't want potatoes."

"Does Lambo-san want his juice?" He shakes his head. "Fish?"

"Lambo-san is a hero and he wants grapes."

"We don't have grapes, dear." He pouts and starts to tear up. "Do you want a lollipop?" She fishes in her bag for one and hands it to him, and gets a huge smile in return.

"Lambo-san wants the nice lady to tell him a story now." He sucks on his lollipop. "Lambo-san likes stories." He curls up into a ball and rests his head on her lap.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy, nicknamed No-Good Tsuna, who saved the world, just like you." She tells him the story of their time in the future-that-wasn't, and he's all ears, smiling up at her and oohing at the end of almost every sentence. By the end, she's near tears, forced to watch Lambo looking surprised at every turn of events, when he was _there _the whole time, when it's the reason he's the way he is now.

Lambo crawls onto her lap, and she notes that he's lost quite a bit of weight, more than is healthy. He wraps his arm around her neck. "Lambo-san doesn't like it when the nice lady cries. It makes Lambo-san very unhappy."

"Don't be upset, Lambo-san. I, for one, am very, _very_ happy." She hugs him back and hopes he won't slip away again too quickly.

_fin._

Thoughts?


End file.
